This invention relates generally to boot disks for computers, and more specifically to such boot disks that are universal.
Since the invention of the computer, and especially since the invention of the MS-DOS-compatible personal computer, computers have grown increasingly flexible, and as a result, increasingly complex. A given type of computer may be used with over thirty different compact-disc read-only-memory (CD-ROM) drives, and must present information to users speaking over ten different languages. Furthermore, the computer may be used with any of a number of different types of keyboards as well.
This flexibility and resulting complexity makes configuration of computer systems a daunting task for computer manufacturers. The operating system typically installed on a computerxe2x80x94for example, MS-DOS, or Microsoft Windowsxe2x80x94is usually generic, and is not tied to any particular CD-ROM, spoken language, or type of keyboard. Therefore, the manufacturers themselves must assist the end users in customizing the operating system so that it meets the particular configuration requirements of the users.
One solution to this predicament is the boot disk. The boot disk is usually a high-density three-and-a-half-inch floppy disk holding 1.4 megabytes of data. The boot disk customizes the operating system of the computer so that it recognizes the CD-ROM player that is shipped with the computer, presents information to the user in the correct language, and recognizes the keyboard used with the computer. In the case where the operating system did not come pre-installed with the computer, the boot disk also typically manages the installation of the operating system, ensuring that the operating system is installed per the user""s configuration requirements.
However, the boot disks currently used are a nightmare for technical support personnel of computer manufacturers. One computer manufacturer estimates that for the number of different CD-ROM players and languages that must be supported, over fifty different boot disks are required (i.e., ten different CD-ROM players and five different languages). When rare keyboard combinations are also taken into account, the number of boot disks required rises to over seventy. Even not taking into account CD-ROM players no longer sold by this manufacturer, a staggering thirty different boot disks are required. This means that the support personnel must be equipped to handle each of thirty different boot disks.
Furthermore, the boot disk is typically written from a computer programmer""s perspective. The boot disk usually does not inform the user what it is doing, and is also difficult to use by the novice computer user. For example, the user may have to know exactly the type of CD-ROM that has been installed in the computerxe2x80x94information which many times the user does not know. All of this means that the user is more likely to call technical support even if the boot disk is functioning correctly, to obtain assistance in stepping through the boot disk process.
Therefore, there is a need for a boot disk that is universal. The boot disk should be able to accommodate many different CD-ROM players, many different languages spoken by end users, and many different types of keyboards. Furthermore, there is a need for a boot disk that is easy to use and informative. The boot disk should be able to automatically detect the type of CD-ROM player that has been installed with the computer. The boot disk should also tell the user what it doing at each step during the boot disk process.
The present invention relates to a universal boot disk for a computer. In one embodiment of the invention, a computer system comprises a computer, a removable media storage device, and a boot media. The computer has at least a central-processing unit and a memory. The removable media storage device is operatively coupled to the computer. The boot media is removably insertable in the removable media storage device, and has an executable program stored thereon for automatically detecting one of a plurality of different compact-disc read-only-memory (CD-ROM) devices and causing installation of a corresponding driver program.
In another embodiment of the invention, a boot disk for a computer operatively coupled to a CD-ROM device of a particular type has an executable program stored thereon. The program comprises a language selection component, a keyboard selection component, and a CD-ROM auto-selection component. The language selection component queries a user of the computer for a desired language in which for the computer to convey user-readable information. The keyboard selection component queries the user for a type of keyboard with which the computer will be used. Finally, the CD-ROM auto-select component detects automatically the particular type of the CD-ROM device operatively coupled to the computer.
The boot disk of the present invention provides for a number of advantages. The boot disk is universal, in that it accommodates many different CD-ROM players, many different languages spoken by end users, and many different types of keyboards. The boot disk is easy to use and informative, in that the disk automatically detects the type of CD-ROM player installed with the computer, and its language and keyboard selection components ask the user in easy-to-understand terms the information it needs.
Other embodiments of the invention include a method for booting a computer comprising the steps of querying a user for a desired language in which for the computer to convey information, querying the user for a type of keyboard with which the computer will be used, and automatically detecting the particular type of the CD-ROM device operatively coupled to the computer. Still other and further aspects, embodiments and advantages of the present invention will become apparent in the following description and by reference to the accompanying drawings.